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About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2002)
PAGE 6 FOREVER WILD WORDS & SONGS BY TRE ARROW It has been an intense and powerful time these past few months for the people involved in the God’s Valley logging, the Acey Line cut. This is not a struggle between right and wrong, good or bad, liberal or conservative. This is a call for us as human beings to set aside these stereotypes and labels that divide us and further separate us from the truth: that we as a people are not above or outside what we do to this precious planet No matter what our religion, color, gender, occupation or political involvement, we (as well as every living thing) need clean air and pure water to live. The more we decimate and contaminate the very entity which sustains us, the more we will suffer. Just take a look around and take a step back that you might see a bit more clearly: the ailments, the degener ative diseases, the cancer rates, the pharmaceutical dependency, the heart attacks, strokes, osteoporosis, birth defects and infertility. Do you think any of these things could be related to what we do to this planet, therefore ourselves? Whether we are aware or not, we are inextricably interconnected to the very things we are destroying The water, air, trees, wildlife, micro-organisms and soil give us life, yet with all our intelligence we are the only species that is ignorant enough to desiccate the very components that keep us alive. We are the only species which embraces the drinking of another species’ milk. We are the only species which prepares our food with flame. We are the only species which wipes out anything that stands in the way of our quest for money, power and greed. Yet it is we who are suffering, and the majority of us sit back and let it happen. What are we leaving our future generations to deal with? What kind of legacy are we leaving? Is this sacred Earth Mother here for us to abuse and disrespect, as cruel and absurd as an unborn infant poisoning and hurting its very own mother who is doing everything possible to help it thrive and flourish? The sicker the mother, the more impaired the infant.The sicker our Earth Mother, the more we suffer. Maybe it is time to step forward and be part of the solution and not the problem. Maybe some people feel the sacredness of all life is worth putting their lives on the line. Every level of our government has failed to protect public land, citizens’ rights, and to uphold the very laws it creates. When the government cares more about the interests of big business than people, it is time the people take a stand and put a stop to the injustices which surround us. If the people lead, the leaderswill follow. We can direct the impact we have on this planet and every living thing through our purchase power, our thoughts, actions and words. What we choose to buy and not to buy, what we choose to eat, how we communicate with each other and nature affects how and for what we stand. The spirit and beauty lies in everything: the quiet stillness at night in the forest, colors dancing across the sky during the coastal sunset, the life giving water flowing from our only Mother. The more we spend time in nature and connect to this planet, the more we realize the profound necessity to protect this planet, for all life, for all generations. May it stay forever wild. ROBERT GOLDSTRUM Tre Arrow (aka Michael Scarpitti) was forcibly removed by sheriffs’ deputies from a tall tree he occupied in protest of the Acey Line cut in God’s Valley near Tillamook last summer. He suffered severe injuries from an 80 foot fall from the tree including fracturing his neck. He was arrested and eloquently said to judge and court at his trial in January in Clatsop County Court that humanity must choose between preserving or destroying life on our home planet. The forests are Earth’s lungs, he said He received a fine and a year of probation. A public hearing will be held in Clatsop County Courthouse Room 200 on April 17 at 6 p.m. to discuss the controversial proposed land swap by the Oregon Department of Forestry of five uncut tracts near John Day for previously clearcut tracts owned by Nygaard Logging Company. The uncut forest to be swapped contains old growth trees and popular hiking trails developed over the past several years by Norman Wentworth. If the swap is approved plans are to develop much of the cutover land rather than reseed. DEAD, STANDING HITLER I don’t deal with the monoxide from the cars My car has two wheels with handlebars We have jokers and puppets for our leaders The spirit and the stars are the teachers There’s a Hitler in every one of us Jesus in everybody's soul It’s up to us to decide who's in control We should all think a little greener We should all ask more questions We should all take more action And less payoffs What is the price of your luxury You drape them over your shoulders and feet And stuff them in your little bellies Well, that doesn’t seem so luxurious to me I know if they could word it how you speak They’d surround you in their fury Just because you have a bigger brain Doesn’t mean they’re yours to claim Skies hold the price of industry While old white men gobble up what’s free Does it make you feel content and calm Like the pool of pearl in your palm Kill all the forests nevermind clean air Nevermind the animals who lived there Nevermind the sacred wisdom of the trees Desecrate and excavate us as you please RIVERBED I followed the river down through the woods I felt the stinging in my eyes My throat began to choke, I could not breathe I heard the old hard wood cries I cannot get away You’ve taken my family, you've taken my son You poisoned the riverbed, but the river’s my home Tell me how can you stand there wrapped in your apathy When 500 innocent children are buried at your feet We won’t let you get away I feel my blood running these chemicals through my body I feel my wounds within growing fiercer every day For years and years the water has turned us sour You eviscerate life from us, who gave you the power? I'm fading away I followed the river down through the years Such a horrific sight I remember the days when the water was clear Not a cold, black midnight It’s floating away Oh, fen halloway We re all fading away I watch my sister, she’s fading fast Then I turn around, my brother has passed My neighbors, their children, they aren’t here anymore My mother, my father, well their sicknesses soar Than I try to fathom: what’s this happening for? Misogynistic, racist, corporate textbooks Focus not on your heart and soul but on your looks Don’t think for yourself, don’t tell us the truth... What are we teaching our youth? VAN PUSEN BEVERAGES ASTORIA, OREGON tr 325-2362 ASroRlA'ORSG-ONj TONY'S TAVERN THE COMPLEAT PHOTOGRAPHER 11'3 MARINE DR ASTORIA (503) 325 5069 475 14TH ST., ASTORIA & 303 S. HOLLADAY, SEASIDE 325-0759 736-3686 I
